I just acquired a 79 SA that has been sitting for 10 years. It was found in a backyard less than 2 blocks from my house. The engine turns freely after a little MMO in the plug holes. The engine runs if you prime the carb with some gasoline.
It has a black interior but the dash pad is shot. Seats are not in bad shape with the exception of a small 2" tear in the passenger seat. There is a complete set of SA wheels with NO road rash on them. The car is a one owner vehicle with stack of maintenance records, the owners manual, and the service and maintenance/warranty book in the glove compartment. The windows on both sides roll up nicely with no problems. I'm not sure how much the previous owner knew about rotary engines as there are standard autolite spark plugs in it. The car was originally yellow but was painted twice by the PO. Once gold and then white.

The bad...it was a Jacksonville, Fla. car and has a little rust on it. Also, I don't know if I can get away with another parts car as my landlord and the city are giving me crap about the 3 FBs I have in my backyard.

The good..The body is straight with no frame damage.

 

Congrats! Now, where are the pictures?

 

OK, here is the one pic I took before the batteries in my camera died. I'll take more after a little cleanup on the car.




One question....Will a hood from an FB fit the SA?

 

OMG! It looks like the one I just finished restoring for my friend! The hoods are all the same 79-85. I hope you fix it up, not many SA's around.

 

Wow, Hec's 79 gs, nice job on the restoration. The car I have needs a lot of work to be in that kind of shape but it has potential.

 

you two....
separated at birth
Good luck - lots of great spare parts if you don't resurrect her, but would be a shame

Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

 

I agree Stu, It would be a shame to part this car out. I would offer the car for sale to the members of this forum in hopes that someone would restore it before I parted it out.

 

Nice SA. An interesting side note is that Mazda only released yellow on the 1st model year cars - they did this with all of their lineup.

The yellow SA's are even more rare than the LS (Leather Sport) I used to have. Definitely a keeper/restorer/driver if you can make the commitment.

Good luck,

 

very nice find, indeed. PM an asking price.

 

Aarrrrrgggg! Thanks for the great info Long Duck. That just makes my decision of what to do with this car that much more difficult. The car has more rust than I thought. But it has a lot of good parts also. I was almost to the point of parting it out then I read Long Ducks post. I talked to the PO yesterday and the drivers seat is in such good shape because he had it recovered. I also don't think I mentioned it but the car is a factory A/C car. The radio surround is in good shape and the headliner has just one small tear about a half inch long by the rear of the passenger seat. If I still worked at the body shop and had access to the air tools, spotweld cutters. mig welder, sand blaster, and all the spray and finishing equipment, I would attempt to restore it. As things go, I don't have the resources to do it at this point. I did get a few shots of some of the interior pieces as I cleaned them up as well as the contents of the glove compartment.

 

 

Can someone tell me why these pics will show up in the test area but not here?

 

i think you posted them in the wrong format



can you see this one?

copy and paste the one that starts with [img]

 

looks like a good project!

 

thats super awesome that you have that peperwork with the car!!!

so tell me again why its bad tht its a Jacksonville FL car? sure the interior may be a little rough from the heat but the body will no doubt be good!

 

OK....working with the engine today. Did a compression check with a piston engine tester. Front rotor...100 psi on highest face. 3 even pulses on tester with valve held in. Rear rotor... 95 psi on highest face. Again, 3 even pulses with valve held in. Not too shabby for a car that has been sitting this long. Checked the plug gap on the autolite plugs that were in the car and the gaps were all at .020 or less. Autolite recommends .040 so I reset the gaps and cleaned the plugs with some brake clean. I put about 2 gallons of fresh gas in the car , primed the carb, and it started right up. Let me tell you though, the mosquitoes were not happy! Neither were the red wasps that had been living in the muffler...lol. I would rev the engine and wasps would fly out of the muffler. Can someone tell me what the approximately 1" pipe left of the muffler when looking at the rear of the car is? It was smoking like crazy. I think the muffler might be partially clogged with wasp nests. As an interesting side note...the A/C works! It needs a recharge, but it was blowing cold air. Wow.

 

Just got back from a drive around the block! Woohooo! Lots of sputtering and popping. I havn't checked the carb adjustment or timing yet. The points look fairly new but I will have to check the adjustment. That sounds like fun. I have not messed with points since the early 80's. The clutch master cylinder had to be bled as the reservoir was empty and the clutch release didn't work. All went well. The bleeder screw didn't break off and I bled the thing until the fluid came out clean and I had a nice firm clutch. The brakes are next! It has none. I used the e-brake on my little drive...that was fun. I went very slowly and had a friend follow me.

 

i would remove the autolites RIGHT AWAY and install the proper NGK plugs.

 

I agree. I was just doing a little playing around to see if I could get it running on its own. Only NGK or Densos in my rotarys.